Notebook: Bulls 93, Knicks 85

Posted Dec 9, 2012&nbsp12:10 AM

By Kent McDill, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Marco Belinelli and Luol Deng each scored 22 points, and three other Bulls reached double figures as the Bulls beat the visiting New York Knicks Saturday 93-85 for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Raymond Felton scored 27 points for the Knicks, who played their second straight game without Carmelo Anthony due to a lacerated finger. The Knicks had their five-game winning streak broken.

THE FACTS II: Playing their fourth game in five nights, and their fourth game in a row without starting shooting guard Rip Hamilton, the Bulls overcame the first-half ejection of backup power forward Taj Gibson and an elbow injury to starting point guard Kirk Hinrich to pull off their most impressive win of the season.

QUOTABLE I: "Anybody (on the Bulls) can step up any night and be huge for us." -- Bulls center Joakim Noah, talking about Belinelli's big night following his own big game Friday.

THE STAT: The Knicks, ranked 10th in the league in field goal shooting, made only 32 percent of their shots (27-for-84). Felton was nine for 30 in getting his 27 points.

THE STAT II: The Bulls were outscored from the free-throw line, 23-18, but they made all 18 of their attempts.

THE STAT III: After his 30-point, 23-rebound game Friday against Detroit, Noah of the Bulls scored 10 points and 11 rebounds Saturday. He also had nine turnovers.

TURNING POINT: The Bulls scored six straight points from the 1:38 point of the fourth quarter to increase their lead from three points to nine points with 55 seconds left.

INJURY UPDATE: Anthony, who warmed up for a lengthy period before the game, said he would play Sunday against Denver, adding that he was having difficulty catching the ball. Hinrich suffered his elbow injury late in the second quarter and did not return.

HOT: The move placing Belinelli in the starting lineup in place of injured guard Hamilton continues to pay off. After a poor first start, Belinelli has averaged just over 20 points per game over the last three games, making 21 of 43 shots (48.8 percent). That includes eight of 20 3-pointers (40 percent).

NOT: The shooting numbers for the Knicks were incredibly bad up and down the box score. Ronnie Brewer missed all five of his shots, Jason Kidd was 2-for-7, J.R. Smith was 4-for-14.

QUOTABLE II: "I thought they made the hustle plays." -- New York coach Mike Woodson.

QUOTABLE III: "He did not get his money's worth." -- Bulls forward Carlos Boozer, commenting on Gibson's two immediate technical fouls in the second quarter. Gibson said he did not say anything worthy of a single technical.

GOOD MOVE: Gibson was ejected with 3:40 left in the second quarter for comments he made to referee Derrick Stafford after a rebounding foul was called against him. Hinrich left the game with his injury with 2:49 left in the second quarter. The Bulls played most of the second half with six players, as center Nazr Mohammed played just over one minute and rookie point guard Marquis Teague played just three minutes.

NOTABLE: Starting with the Knicks game Saturday, the Bulls play 10 consecutive games against teams that were at .500 or better before Saturday's games... After playing 42 minutes Friday, Luol Deng played all but 86 seconds of the game Saturday. Noah played 44 minutes and Belinelli 45 minutes Saturday... The Knicks play seven of their next eight games at home, where they are 7-0.